??AWS Dragon Boat Team: Lessons we have learned about Amazon's Culture and Leadership Principles ??

We've just experienced an unforgettable journey as the AWS Dragon Boat Team, securing 2nd place in a thrilling race! Here's our story, demonstrating Amazon's Leadership Principles and our peculiar culture throughout the journey.

???Bias for Action:?Kudos to Donald Wong for sparking interest and initiating the discussion. Despite various challenges, such as stakeholder communication, this is essentially a two-way door situation. Our team went in knowing that even if we couldn't pull it off, it was a reversible decision but with an immense potential payoff if we make it, which we did.

???Disagree and Commit:?Many of us were skeptical at first, considering the required 12-week intensive training every Sunday afternoon. With 90% of us being dragon boat first-timers and having family commitments, it wasn't an easy decision. But we disagreed and committed, recruiting close to 30 Amazonians who attained over 50% of the practice time. We persevered in various weather conditions - windy, chilly, heavy rain pour, thunderstorms, and extreme heat ??

???Customer Obsession:?I personally joined the team to prove to a customer that being experimental means pushing oneself out of the comfort zone. Our experience to join the first dragon boat race ever, albeit scary, resonated with Jeff Bezos' quote about persistent on a vision and goal and working backward to make it happen, even if it requires learning new skills.

???Learn and Be Curious, It's Still Day 1:?We won 2nd place by outcompeting stronger and more experienced teams, thanks to our being humble and eagerness to learn. As first-timers, we were all back to Day 1, listening to commands and following the techniques taught by the few fellows who knew what we were doing ??♀?. Gradually we improved our posture and movement, embodying "Leaders are never done learning and always seek to improve themselves."

???Input Goals, Deliver Results:?Our original goal was not to come last, but instead of wasting time speculating on our final ranking, we focused on our input goals. We made sure everyone understand our 3-5-20 rhythm, staying in-sync no matter what, put eyes only on the paddle in front of us. We observed that other powerful teams lost their pace once they were out of sync, which only slowed their boats down more when they sped up.

???Dive Deep:?After every practice, we debriefed to identify areas of improvement. These evaluations occurred so naturally, even over cooldown exercises or a pint of post-practice beer. On the race day, Victor Lee gave us quick debrief after every race, even after the last one when we knew we had won 2nd place. These?debriefing taught us valuable lessons, as we discovered new insights by discussing details.

?? ???Women in Tech:?A huge shout-out?to my fellow female teammates, by promoting women's "voices" in Amazon. Because of the rule of having a minimum of 8 women paddling at every race, almost all of us had to participate in all three races on the game day. But we committed by showcasing our power, tenacity, and consistency, not only on the game day but throughout the practices.?Really proud of us girls! Kit Chan Mabel Tsang Rachel W. Cathy Tang Elaine Lee Diane Iong Maggie Mai Phoebe Lam

???Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility:?We often think of broad responsibility in terms of large-scale projects like reducing carbon footprint or using renewable energy, but we can all make a difference on individual level. By influencing our families and showing our children what's possible, we contribute to a better world. We are grateful for our families' support, our children joining practices, and partners cheering us on.

???One Team:?This experience exemplifies the power of diverse teams coming together to achieve a common goal. We united members from BD, SA, Marketing, ProServ, HR, Training and Certification, and Digital Innovation, demonstrating true teamwork.

Special thanks to Robert Wang for the calligraphy of our Chinese team name, and Mark Arel for the creative phone tool icons to bond the team with our builder spirit!

Thank you, everyone, for making this incredible journey possible. We are #OneTeam, and we achieved this together! ?? #AmazonLeadershipPrinciples #AWSDragonBoatTeam #SuccessTogether